Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers, either of whom could make history if he is elected to Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat on Nov. 3, take the stage in Grand Rapids tonight for the first of two debates in one of the most closely watched and hotly contested races in the nation this year — and one of the most consequential congressional contests ever in the state.
And the Free Press will cover it wall-to-wall, with a livestream here beginning at 7 p.m., and a series of updated reports that will include the candidates' key comments and rejoinders, as well as needed context about the veracity and significance of those remarks.
Already, the race has been one for the record books, with millions spent in advertising, especially by outside political groups,
flooding the state's airwaves with attack spots. El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee and the former Wayne County and Detroit health director, is a progressive firebrand in the mold of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. Rogers, a Republican former congressman from White Lake, has President Donald Trump's endorsement and narrowly lost to then U.S. Rep. (now Sen.) Elissa Slotkin in 2024; if he were to win, he'd become the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in 32 years.
The debate is being hosted by WOOD-TV8 in Grand Rapids and moderated by political reporter Rick Albin. A second, and presumably final, debate is scheduled to be held in Detroit by WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) on Oct. 21.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U.S. Senate debate live: Follow El-Sayed, Rogers in real time
